proverb · Words worth keeping
Make not the devil blacker than he is.
Make not the devil blacker than he is.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Do not exaggerate a fault or make an already troubling situation seem worse than the evidence shows. The devil supplies an extreme image, but the practical point is proportionate judgement rather than denying real wrongdoing.
Example
A reader finds one incorrect label in a display and reports that error rather than telling others that every item in the collection is unreliable.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The saying objects to adding more darkness to a figure already presented as bad. Figuratively, a complaint can grow through repeated telling until assumptions and embellishments are treated as facts. A useful response separates what is known from what is inferred and describes the actual problem accurately. That allows criticism to remain serious without acquiring unsupported accusations. The proverb should not silence someone who reports harm or require a cheerful account of misconduct. Nor does it establish a religious claim about the devil. Its emphasis is proportion: assess the conduct at issue without adding faults merely because the person or situation is already disliked.
When to use it
Use it when criticism is becoming broader than the available evidence.
Keep in mind
Proportionate description must still take real harm seriously; the saying does not disprove a report.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English